Not all information is created for the same audience or purpose. Knowing the difference will help you choose the right sources for your assignment. Use the chart below to learn about different types of sources and the information they contain.
| Source | Author | Audience | Examples | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Popular Sources |
Journalists | General public | The New York Times, The Atlantic, new sites |
Daily local, national, and international news, events, and statistics Record of events, and quotes from experts, officials, and witnesses |
| Scholarly/Academic Articles | A professional or expert in the field; usually has an advanced degree in the field | Scholars, researchers, professionals, and university students in the field | Academic journals like Journal of Educational Psychology, American Economic Review, and Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning |
In-depth research on a topic Data, charts, and graphs Bibliographies of other sources |
| Trade Journals | Practitioners in a field | Practitioners in a field | Architectural Digest, Forbes, Education Week |
Industry trends, practice-based knowledge (not research-based knowledge) |
| Government Websites | Government employees | General Public | fbi.gov, census.gov | Current events, statistics, policy information |
Information often moves through different stages, starting from an initial event and changes as it's analyzed and shared. For disciplines like English, sociology, or political science, the information lifecycle often looks like this:
However, this flow isn't always one-way! In some disciplines, particularly the health sciences, the information lifecycle is often the reverse:
Understanding the information lifecycle for your discipline or topic will help you see how different types of sources relate to each other.
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